42. Katie

CHAPTER 42

Katie

ONE YEAR LATER

G iggles have me lowering my Kindle to see what’s going on. Cody hangs over Nolan’s shoulder as he sprints into the waves, the blue water splashing up around them with every step. He slowly lowers Cody into the waves. The second his feet land, Cody sends an arc of water toward Nolan.

They’re both laughing now, their tan skin glistening in the sun. From here, Cody looks like a teenager. I still can’t believe he’s ten now. It doesn’t seem possible.

Nolan had the brilliant idea to go on vacation to celebrate my thirtieth birthday along with Cody’s tenth. We waited until spring break to get the most out of our time. We’ve been in Puerto Rico for three days, and we’ve never had this much fun together.

This past year has been both the best and worst year. It took Nolan a long time to get back to normal. His body remained weak for months after he was shot. He needed physical therapy to help his core muscles work as they should, and we all needed regular therapy to help us cope with the trauma. It took us a while to feel normal again.

This vacation came at just the right time because we’re finally in a place to move on. All three of us are happy again, which makes this trip even more of a celebration than it was originally supposed to be.

Bryce was charged with attempted murder and kidnapping, to which he pleaded guilty to get a lesser sentence. He has to serve a total of thirty-five years in prison without the chance of early parole: twenty for the attempted murder and fifteen for kidnapping. I was happy we didn’t have to go through some long, drawn-out trial. It was over quickly and without any major fanfare. Well, for us anyway. Bryce and his family were vilified by the press. Thankfully, they didn’t hound us for very long. After a couple of weeks passed without us adding to the story, they moved on to other news. Our biggest worry was Bryce’s parents seeking custody of Cody or trying to obtain grandparents’ rights, but they never filed a motion. Dani even reached out to Bryce’s lawyer to double-check, and the guy said they weren’t interested in suing for custody. They thought Bryce was telling the truth when he told them the court had placed Cody in his custody. Since that wasn’t the case, they didn’t want anything to do with Cody.

The relief we felt after the confirmation was immense. We haven’t heard from any of them since. It’s been wonderful.

“Mom! Come swim with us!” Cody calls from the water. I grin as he waves like a maniac. I tuck my Kindle into my tote bag and walk to the water. Nolan’s eyes stick to me like glue. It’s been interesting sharing a hotel room with Cody. We got a suite that has a separate bedroom from the living room. I felt a little guilty making Cody sleep on the pull-out couch, but it’s more comfortable than I thought. I’ve started napping there in the afternoon while Nolan and Cody go on adventures.

Nolan’s stare hits me straight in the gut, as it always does. I head straight for him. He wraps his arms around my waist and kisses me on the cheek .

“You looked like a siren coming into the water. Are you planning to seduce me?” Nolan whispers in my ear.

I grin up at him, shaking my head at his ridiculousness.

“Dad, are we still going snorkeling today?” Cody asks as he surfaces from diving for sea shells. The massive goggles on his face are adorable. I can’t wait to see the red ring on his forehead when we get out of the water.

He started calling Nolan “Dad” about a month after Nolan got out of the hospital and moved in with us. Cody said that only a dad would be willing to die for his kid, and Nolan deserved the title if he wanted it. Naturally, I cried my eyes out, and Nolan hugged Cody until Cody squirmed out of his arms. Nolan has been Dad ever since.

“We can if you want.”

“Maybe we should just hang by the pool or something this afternoon.” Cody shrugs. “A sign in the lobby said they were serving snacks today.”

I grin. Leave it to Cody to be enticed by the snacks. “I’m about ready to wash up for lunch. What about you boys?”

“I could eat.” Cody shrugs.

“You can always eat,” Nolan teases him. “I could go for a shower.” He drops his hand below the water and cups my ass. “What about you, mama?”

“I definitely need a shower. I’ve got sand all over the place.”

“Sounds like you might need some help with that,” Nolan murmurs.

“I think I will.”

“Okay!” Nolan shouts, making me giggle. “Let’s go get cleaned up.” He takes off for the beach chairs, pushing through the water as quickly as he can.

“Why’s he in such a rush?” Cody asks as we follow along at a normal pace.

“Who knows? He’s always doing weird stuff.”

I bite the fleshy part of my thumb. The pain allows my brain to focus on being as quiet as possible. Holy shit, the man is a god.

Nolan’s cock continues to pump in and out of me as the warm water rains down on us. My face is pressed into the shower wall, while Nolan is behind me, doing everything he can to make me cry out.

He reaches around my body and strums my clit. He knows exactly how to drive me crazy and seeks to do it every single time we’re together. We’ve gotten pretty good at shower sex since we’ve been here. The water provides the perfect cover for any noises, and Nolan and I can spend some extra time together without it seeming weird.

“Are you going to come on my cock, little dove?” Nolan whispers. His lips ghost over my neck, sending goose bumps across my skin.

I nod, unable to speak around my thumb. I’m right on the edge. I just need a little… Oh. Fuck.

Nolan pinches my clit, and my body explodes. He rides it out, his hands squeezing my hips as he comes right after me. We both shudder through our releases, our bodies quivering with aftershocks.

He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me in tight to his chest. “I love you.”

I melt into him, my head resting on his shoulder. “I love you more.”

“Not possible.”

“Is to,” I sass.

“How do you figure?”

I grab one of his hands and lower it to my belly. “Well, there’s an extra little person in here who also loves you. I think that means I love you the most. ”

Nolan twists me around to look at him. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying right now?”

I nod, emotions clogging my throat.

“We’re having a baby?” he whispers, his own emotions stealing his voice. He looks down at where his hand is still pressed to my lower abdomen.

“We’re having a baby. I took the test this morning.”

“That’s what you were doing? You’re so sneaky.”

I laugh. I told him I had forgotten my Kindle in the room and snuck out to take the test instead. I’ve been feeling off for a few weeks now and thought, what better time to find out if I’m pregnant than on vacation when everything feels exciting and fun?

The thing that’s amazing to me is how different this has felt from the first moment I suspected it. Instead of being scared to tell Nolan, I was thrilled. It’s actually taken everything I have not to tell him. Even when I was just suspicious, I wanted to share the excitement. I decided to wait until I could confirm it, though. Based on his face, he didn’t suspect a thing.

“Are you happy?”

“More than I could even put into words. This is the best gift you could’ve ever given me, and it’s not even my birthday. Fuck, no wonder you haven’t been drinking. I thought it was weird, but I didn’t want to say anything. Does anyone know?”

The way he keeps bouncing from one thought to the next is cracking me up. “Nope. You’re the first. I’m not very far along. Likely only a few weeks, so I want to wait a bit to share the news, if that’s okay.”

“You know best, mama. I’ll follow your lead.” Nolan cups my cheeks and kisses me with all the love and happiness I could ever hope to receive. “I love you so much. You know that, right? ”

“I do. And I want us to be a family. I want to get married and share your last name. I want it all.”

Nolan presses his forehead to mine. “Jesus Christ. I’m weirdly turned on and so fucking happy right now. It’s confusing. Yes. I want all of that, too. When we get home, we’ll start making plans.”

I look down to see his cock is standing at attention, confirming what he’s saying. I just grin at him, pleased he’s as happy about this information as I am.

“Just ignore him. We need to get out of the shower anyway.” He turns to shut off the water. When he looks back at me, his smile is a mile wide. “We’re having a baby. Holy shit. This is going to be fun.”